As is well-known by everyone who plays golf, putting has plagued all types of players, and the quest for improved putters and putting techniques never ends. Even the most talented tour players strive to improve techniques, or to find a new putter that will improve performance or give a technology advantage over competitors.
With regard to the structure of putters, as recently as about 40 years ago, engineering principles were applied to the design of putters for the first time, and a design which became known as "heel-toe balanced" was devised. Prior to this innovation, putters were for the most part essentially flat, plate-like structures commonly referred to as "blade" putters.
A putter design in accordance with the "heel-toe balanced" principle has its mass concentrated in the heel and toe of the putter head. This provides an increased moment of inertia that causes the putter head to resist twisting when a golf ball is struck at a point on the putter face which is away from the "sweet spot" of the putter. Such a putter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,042,405 to Solheim.
In addition to having heel-toe balance, the putter disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,042,405 has another design feature which is commonly referred to as "face balance". A face balanced putter is one having equal moment arms, i.e., the concentrated masses at the heel and toe are equally distant from the longitudinal axis of the golf shaft, or the axis rotation of the golf shaft. Face balancing is accomplished in U.S. Pat. No. 3,042,405 by connecting the shaft of the putter centrally between the toe and the heel of the putter so that it is located proximate to the center of gravity of the putter head.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,654, also to Solheim, discloses a putter with concentrations of mass in the toe and heel portions. The putter head is configured so that its center of gravity is approximately midway between the toe and heel of the putter. Stability is maintained by an especially configured hosel which extends vertically from proximate the heel of the putter head and positions the putter shaft so that the longitudinal axis of the putter shaft intersects an imaginary line at a point forward of the face of the putter, with the imaginary line being normal to the face of the putter and passing through the center of gravity of the putter.
Although each of the Solheim designs described above solves many of the problems regarding twisting of a putter head when the golf ball is struck at a point on the putter face which is away from the sweet spot of the putter, the putter heads do not provide a solution to many of the psychological problems golfers have with putting. Many golfers, including advanced golfers at competitive levels, experience a syndrome called the "yips". A golfer experiencing yips finds it difficult to strike a ball consistently and perform a mechanically correct putting swing.
In addition to the psychological aspects of a putting game, many golfers experience difficulty in properly aligning putts. Improper putting alignment can result from improper stance, grip, or ball positioning in the stance. Prior art designs of putters do not adequately aid a golfer in properly addressing a ball so that a correct swing of the putter can be made.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and useful putter which overcomes some of the shortcomings and disadvantages of the prior art.